The Falun Gong movement held a news conference Monday to call attention to their cause and seek support of Charlotteans as they make their way to Washington, D.C., for a march and rally that was scheduled for yesterday.

Falun Gong is a meditation and exercise discipline that espouses "truthfulness, compassion and tolerance to try to improve themselves," according to Zhanglin Cui. Cui came to Raleigh five years ago and is currently doing post doctorate studies at North Carolina State University. He was quick to point out that Falun Gong is not a religion, but a system to cultivate the mind and body through meditation and exercise.

Since July 1999, Falun Gong practitioners have been persecuted in mainland China. It is now unlawful for people to practice Falun Gong in China, except in Hong Kong, as it has been declared a [slanderous term omitted].

Robert Culloway, a technician with Xerox Corp., took vacation time from his job to join the caravan to the capital city. He has been practicing Falun Gong for 3 years and attributes improvements in his work and health to the practice.

"It's made me a better worker. My customer service skills are better. I don't miss work because I don't get sick," Culloway said.

Tony Dang, a researcher at Duke Medical University [Editor's note: should be "Duke Medical Center"], said he hasn't talked to his brother since last summer. He was told by his family in China that his brother is, they believe, in a labor camp. He admits that speaking out may cause retribution to his family, but nonetheless, he feels compelled to speak out.

"[...] Falun Gong practitioners in China cannot speak out. If the Chinese outside of China do not speak out, then no one will know their stories. It may go back on my family, but I feel I must speak out for all the Falun Gong practitioners," Dang said.

There were around 20 practitioners of Falun Gong who were on the journey to Washington. They played a tape of relaxing, meditative music with a woman's voice giving exercise instructions in a soft and serene tone. The practitioners performed exercises on mats in front of the downtown public library.

After leaving Charlotte, Culloway said they were going on to Greensboro, then Richmond, Vir., and finally to Washington, D.C., for the rally on Thursday.

Culloway said the July 19 date was chosen because it was on July 20, 1999 that the [party name omitted] government in China started their crackdown on Falun Gong, which has resulted in over 250 deaths of practitioners. Other reports by human rights groups say the number of those killed is around 150.

The reason for the crackdown, according to any of the followers asked Monday, is simply the number of practitioners. They said the [party name omitted] regime in China fears any group that becomes too large. They estimated there are around 100,000 [Editor's note: should be 100 million] Falun Gong in China.

Falun Gong practitioners meet in Charlotte weekly to do the exercises and the instructional book and video are available on the Internet for free.

For more information call 1 877-FALUN-99.